As 2023 winds down, it’s unbelievable to mirror on all of the progress we’ve made throughout the Microsoft 365 ecosystem this 12 months. Above all, I wish to thank our clients for trusting Microsoft Teams to be your device and platform for collaboration and communication. I’m proud to report that tens of thousands and thousands extra individuals adopted Teams this 12 months, together with the brand new model launched in October. Microsoft Teams now has over 320 million month-to-month lively customers.
I additionally wish to share my deep gratitude with the unbiased software program distributors (ISVs), system integrators, and enterprise builders who’ve partnered to assist construct our Teams ecosystem. Thanks to your funding, there are actually greater than 2,000 apps within the Teams retailer and over 145,000 customized line-of-business (LOB) apps constructed by enterprises.
This 12 months’s greatest information was the introduction of Microsoft Copilot, your highly effective new AI assistant for work. Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 grew to become typically accessible Nov.1, and we’re making certain that your funding in Teams supplies the inspiration for Copilot extensibility, which lets you increase Copilot with customized abilities and convey its capabilities to your apps. Organizations with Copilot for Microsoft 365 can decide into the public preview for extensibility.
As we glance ahead, I wish to share key assets we’ve created for ISVs and enterprise builders so to plan the way you’ll harness the ability of AI by extending Copilot. I additionally wish to spotlight just a few implausible Teams apps that may assist enterprises enhance their end-of-year operations, acknowledge excellent workers, and kick off subsequent 12 months with renewed goal.
Tips for extending Copilot for Microsoft 365 utilizing Microsoft Graph connectors
In 2024, enterprise adoption of Copilot for Microsoft 365 will acquire rising momentum, and enterprise builders and ISVs should put together accordingly. You can lengthen Copilot two methods: plugins and connectors. First, we’ll cowl Microsoft Graph connectors, which convey info and content material from exterior knowledge sources into Microsoft Graph, enhancing the information layer and grounding Copilot’s responses in additional of your distinctive context. This extensibility choice, which is mostly accessible, additionally helps customers uncover extra of your group’s content material throughout Microsoft 365 experiences, like Microsoft Search.
For instance, in early spring 2024, Copilot customers will be capable to seek for and summarize content material from Lucidspark’s digital whiteboards and Lucidchart’s clever diagramming, bringing pure language processing to a brand new degree. Lucid will obtain that new functionality by extending Copilot with Graph connectors, making it potential to motive over the assorted knowledge properties within the whiteboard or diagram and reply complicated person questions. Information such because the content material of Lucid canvases, the date the Lucid doc was created or modified, the creator, and different related fields will probably be ingested through Graph connectors to floor wealthy insights to customers. Content ingested from Graph connector knowledge will probably be linked in Copilot’s references, permitting customers to hyperlink again to the unique Lucid whiteboard or diagram.
Visit Microsoft’s new developer portal to be taught extra about methods to get began constructing Graph connectors, or take a look at this fast begin information. You can obtain options from the Sample Solution Gallery, and go to the Microsoft 365 Developer YouTube channel for movies on finest practices. You may also evaluation the listing of all printed Graph connectors which have been enabled to be used with Copilot.
Tips for extending Copilot for Microsoft 365 with plugins
You may also lengthen Copilot utilizing plugins. A strong technique to create a plugin is to use Teams message extensions, which may retrieve exterior knowledge, analyze and summarize info, and permit customers to take actions through Adaptive Cards in Teams. Developers can now create message extensions utilizing Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code. For current message extensions, make sure that app manifests are up to date.
We have a wealth of assets to assist builders construct best-in-class plugins and efficiently lengthen Copilot.
- Follow our information for constructing high-quality plugins.
- Build plugins with low code, or create your personal enterprise copilots, with Microsoft Copilot Studio.
- Check out finest practices for designing Adaptive Cards and Teams process modules to set the stage for nice plugins.
- Develop an experience in immediate design and engineering to extend the accuracy of responses from massive language fashions (LLMs).
- Set up a dev surroundings by making use of for the Microsoft 365 Developer Technology Adoption Program, which has a restricted variety of Copilot licenses accessible for ISVs to buy in personal preview.
How Teams AI library permits clever apps
Enterprises and ISVs may also start their AI journey by utilizing Teams AI library, in public developer preview, to streamline the event of clever apps utilizing APIs, controls, and prebuilt code. Ramp, an ISV that automates funds and expense administration, used the AI library to map person intent to actions contained in the Ramp expertise extraordinarily rapidly, with out requiring customized immediate engineering or handbook LLM calls. The API additionally makes it easy so as to add actions to Ramp’s Teams app with little or no improvement effort.
The ensuing integration with Teams removes friction from conventional monetary workflows and unlocks vital productiveness good points—in the end making finance easier and extra environment friendly.
“Ramp is right here to redefine the established order and make finance easy, so companies can give attention to work that issues,” says Eric Glyman, CEO of Ramp. “Simplicity and ease-of-use are on the coronary heart of what our clients love about Ramp—from clever routing for the best approvals, to mechanically matching receipts to transactions, to sustaining efficient controls. By seamlessly integrating with Teams, we make clever monetary instruments accessible the place tons of of thousands and thousands of individuals do their finest work each day.”
Ramp has additionally taken the subsequent step by integrating with Copilot, offering every worker with a finance assistant that may full expense workflows on their behalf, give instantaneous perception into spending traits, and reply expense coverage questions.
Teams apps to enhance year-end actions and jumpstart 2024
With the 12 months wrapping up, I’d additionally like to focus on some Teams apps that may enhance recognition applications for excellent workers in 2023 or assist refine enterprise operations for 2024, beginning with one other take a look at Ramp.
In addition to accelerating day-to-day duties, Ramp’s integration with Copilot additionally fosters extra strategic, data-backed considering and decision-making. With deep perception into the monetary internal workings of your small business, the Ramp plugin is a useful associate to finance groups planning, monitoring, and managing budgets as we strategy 2024. For instance, finance managers planning journey and leisure budgets can use Ramp to grasp how a lot their firm spent on motels final 12 months and modify their forecasts primarily based on the info.
Achievers for Teams: Celebrate moments that matter
As the tempo of labor accelerates, Achievers for Teams helps clients simplify worker engagement by merging the worker expertise into the each day movement of labor, and by leveraging a device that workers already use and love—Microsoft Teams. This extends the worth of worker engagement methods and will increase a way of belonging by embedding recognition alternatives all through each day routines.
“The Achievers for Teams app allows us to bring recognition into the flow of an employee’s normal course of work,” says Michael Cohen, Chief Product Officer at Achievers. “With so many employees spending the bulk of their day in communications tools like Teams, the ability to send and receive recognition from within the application allows us to meet employees where they are and to encourage culture-building without ever leaving the Teams app.”
Organizations which have carried out the Achievers for Teams integration have seen vital will increase within the variety of recognitions despatched and better total worker engagement versus these with out the combination.
Enterprises may also use Achievers to amplify year-end recognition initiatives, using key features like celebrating moments that matter the place and once they happen by sending social or points-based recognitions inside Teams. Points-based recognitions are redeemable for rewards workers really need. Achievers is an trade chief with a market of over 3 million rewards and a couple of,500 international manufacturers—with native success companions that guarantee speedy and dependable supply in over 190 international locations, all backed by award-winning customer support.
BHN Rewards: Simplify worldwide gifting to incentivize workers
According to BHN’s 2022 Employee Incentives Report from NAPCO Research, 83 p.c of workers say that getting rewards improves their productiveness and loyalty. Gift playing cards and pay as you go playing cards are essentially the most requested choice (cited by 90 p.c).¹ BHN Rewards for Teams makes it simple to present workers what they need whereas additionally simplifying finances controls, worldwide rewarding, and reward monitoring.
Users can ship rewards throughout dwell digital conferences or in one-on-one chat messages, and the reward announcement may be simply shared to Teams channels as nicely. The choice to ship rewards publicly—even amongst distant, hybrid, and international groups—amplifies the affect as a result of colleagues can see and touch upon the popularity. Recipients can simply declare their digital present card or pay as you go card with only a few clicks.
With the exponential rise in distant workers and international workforces, delivering end-of-year employees appreciation items and honoring prime performers has gotten extra sophisticated for lots of enterprise corporations. But with BHN Rewards for Teams, these rewards may be despatched on the spot throughout digital division conferences or vacation gatherings, making them easy, significant, and efficient worldwide.
Matter for Teams: Give customizable kudos to revolutionize recognition
Matter for Teams begins by making a recognition behavior referred to as Feedback Friday, the place workers are mechanically inspired and guided to offer kudos to their friends. Enterprises can make the most of Matter’s templating system to create totally customizable kudos templates to match your organization’s model, firm values, or particular occasions. Matter’s rewards platform contains present playing cards and donations from 1,500+ retailers in 80+ international locations, and you’ll create your personal firm rewards retailer for gadgets like merchandise or a PTO day.
“Matter for Teams has made employee recognition and rewards fun and easy to use right where you work,” says Matter CEO Brett Hellman. “Within weeks, 83 percent of employees actively engage in peer-to-peer recognition, all from automatic reminders. This uptake highlights Matter’s effectiveness in fostering a culture of appreciation. It’s not just about software; it’s about revolutionizing how we recognize and reward our teammates.”
Use Matter’s analytics instruments to grasp engagement and recognition patterns. This knowledge can inform HR and administration concerning the effectiveness of recognition methods, worker morale, and areas needing enchancment. When the 12 months ends, you should use Matter’s highly effective analytics to seek out which workers acquired essentially the most recognition for a specific firm worth or theme after which reward these workers nearly in your Matter Teams channel or in actual time.
Find out extra concerning the apps highlighted above on the Achievers web site, the BHN Rewards web site, the Lucid web site, the Matter web site, and Ramp’s web site and Teams integration web site.
Maximize your funding in Copilot and Teams in 2024
Check out these assets for extra on methods to get began with Copilot and profit from your funding in Teams apps:
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¹2022 Employee Incentives Report, NAPCO Research and BHN. March 2023.